Genesis 27-28 / Psalm 18 "Doing His Will with Questionable Methods"

READ: Genesis 27-28 / Psalm 18

Verse chosen for meditation: Genesis 27:34-35

³⁴ As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.”

 

REFLECT

It’s a heart-wrenching passage to read. Not once, but twice, Jacob cheated Esau of what’s his. Isaac, in anger with how Jacob took advantage of his blindness, still chose not to retract his blessing to Jacob. This shows the importance placed in words said and blessings given. They hold weight, not something to alter easily, even under such circumstances.

 

One may feel for the way Esau begged Isaac for even an ounce of blessing, to no avail. Eventually, the blessing bestowed upon Esau sounded more like a curse, to lead a nomadic life away from prosperous lands, living by his sword and serving Jacob (Gen. 27:39-40). Where is the justice? How unfair! How can God continue blessing Jacob? However, our view of justice is often microscopic and flawed, unlike biblical justice. We know our God is just and his ways are all-encompassing.

 

RELATE

What do we glean from this? Even if we use sinful means, we can get away with it and get God’s blessings, as long as we achieve His will? Obviously not! Such thoughts are dangerous ways of trifling with God’s grace! Firstly, what is God’s will in this story? The Lord prophesied to Rebekah that the older shall serve the younger (Gen. 25:23). Jacob was meant to inherit the blessings. However, Rebekah and Jacob decided to “advance” God’s will using their own questionable means. They lack the trust and patience to wait on God’s promises to pan out righteously, taking matters into their own hands.

 

Have we tried to justify our methods in the name of doing work for God? Telling a white lie to get what we perceive is a good outcome? Pulling strings or slandering a rival (inevitably depriving others of fair competition) to get into positions we deem God wants us to be in? The world accepts or even encourages some of these means, so we can do it too “because everyone else is doing it”? Often, many of these routes do not end well. In Rebekah and Jacob’s case, it ended tragically and they paid a heavy price. Rebekah never saw her son again after this. Jacob had to flee for his life as Esau sought to kill him. He was not "a man of the fields" but had to labour. He got a taste of his own medicine, being tricked several times by Laban.

 

Eventually, both brothers by the grace of God reconciled in humility and love. We see then that even in this mess of a situation, God makes all things work together for His good and perfect will. He works through our free choices, good or bad. Why we suffer for it is because we often do not give God good choices to work with, like everyone in this story. Both parents showed favouritism (Isaac towards Esau and Rebekah towards Jacob). Esau despised his birthright, and the responsibilities that come with it, so Jacob was more suitable for it. Jacob resorted to sinful means to gain what God promised. In a more ideal situation, Esau might acknowledge Jacob’s abilities and relinquish the role of family leader voluntarily, preventing the mess.

 

The truth is that our God is too exalted to need our questionable methods to do His work. It’s even an insult to Him. Do I give God good choices to work with? If I do not, it is only natural that I go through unwelcomed suffering to learn and mature en route to doing His will.

 

REST

Dear God, so great are you that you do not need my wayward means to do your work. May you guide me to be righteous in all that I do, so that I may build credibility and glorify you even more. Amen.

 

Chris Chong